The present invention relates to retainers for needled surgical sutures, and, more particularly, to such retainers which are economical to manufacture and easy to use and which perform their retention and protective functions in an expedient manner.
Typical suture retainers are packages which comprise folded paper structures for retaining one or more sutures. As used herein, "suture" refers to a suture strand, one or both free ends of which are attached to respective surgical needles. The retainer may be contained in one or more sterile, hermetic envelopes. To use the suture, the envelopes are removed and the retainer is partially or wholly opened or otherwise manipulated to provide access to the needles. Each needle may be grasped with a forceps and pulled from the retainer resulting in withdrawal of the trailing suture strand.
Suture retainers are intended to protect sutures from mechanical and microbial degradation during shipping, handling and storage, while allowing the sutures to be removed with a minimum of difficulty. Prior art suture retainers of this general type include those described in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,615,043; 4,896,767; 4,887,710; 4,884,681; 4,708,241; 4,615,435; 4,574,948; 4,574,957; 4,572,363; 4,555,016; 4,496,045; 4,491,218; 4,483,437; 4,427,109; 4,413,727; 4,412,614; 4,412,613; 4,416,363; 4,253,563; 4,284,194; 4,249,656; 4,120,395; 4,089,409; 4,063,638; 3,939,969; and D22,600.
A primary object hereof is the provision of suture retainers which exhibit to a maximum extent the desirable characteristics thereof.